A few random things…

1. Catelin’s Nursery

I am almost finished with the nursery (it was Ty’s room before we moved him in with MJ).  It is the smallest room in the house, but it works since babies don’t need that much space!  I decided to go with an owl theme after I saw this adorable decal. 



And matching hamper:



I then found a monogram decal on Etsy to go over her crib.  I have an irrational fear that anything hanging over the crib might fall on the baby, so I didn’t want any heavy frames over it.  I think the decal is perfect!



My Aunt Amy made Catelin this gorgeous cross stitch:



And here is the name plate from Aunt Ann:





2. Warrior Dash

We went up to Lake Lanier last weekend to run in an obstacle course 5K.  The rules were that you started and ended as a team.  I was on a team with two of my sisters-in-law (Kerry and Lee) along with Lee’s sister Dallas and friend Heather.  Steve was on a team with Nick and Mike and a co-worker named Laird.  We had a blast and got muddy!  The kids were there to cheer us on.

 Please note that I am wearing my navy college cheerleading Soffe shorts because I refused to wear red and black! 

 

3.  Boys will be boys.

Pictures taken at a local park:

The two of them couldn’t resist the waterfall.  Yes, they are fully clothed.

 

After stripping them down to get into the car, MJ just HAD to climb the rock wall on our way out.  I swear, one day that kid is going to be arrested for public indecency! 



4. MJ-isms


I just love this age.  MJ cracks me up EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I affectionately call his funny statements/conversations “MJ-isms.”

Here is one that made me laugh the other week.

(After MJ swam across the pool by himself)…

Steve: MJ, great job buddy!  You swam all the way across the pool by yourself!  Can you believe you did that ?

MJ:  Of course, dad.  That’s because I have mad skills.

Steve (laughing): You have mad skills??

MJ: That’s right, mad ski-zzzzzles.

Does he have it down or what?!



5. Breastfeeding woes

Let me preface this by saying that I really am a huge advocate of breastfeeding, especially when it is mutually beneficial for baby AND mother.  My sweet baby girl gave me mastitis (yes, for the second time) last week.  Thankfully, I know what to look for now and caught it early enough where I didn’t feel absolutely horrible.  I love the bond that nursing provides, but this has been rough.  Trying to hang in there for a little while longer….say some prayers!





6. Catelin swings for the first time

She liked the swing for about 2 minutes and then had enough.




7.  Ty, Ty baby

I still think of Ty as my baby (even though he is now 22 months old and quite independent!)  He has been calling MJ “bruh-ber” (brother) for months… I love it so much that I rarely try to get him to say MJ.  The other day, “bruh-ber” was walking down the stairs while Ty was eating his snack.  He looked up and said “There’s bruh-ber,  there’s MJ.”  I don’t know why, but I felt a twinge of sadness when I heard him say “MJ” for the first time - he is really growing up.  My sweet Ty baby.





8. The good, the bad, and the ugly

I had some professional pictures done of the kids last month. To say that the photo shoot was a complete mess would be putting it lightly. I know the photographer thought I was insane believing I could get 3 kids under the age of 3.5 in a good picture together (and of course, she was right)! The boys were running around, Catelin was screaming her head off, and we couldn’t get the three of them in a pose to save our lives. After Catelin peed on me for the SECOND time during the “naked” part of the photo shoot, I gave up on getting all of them in a decent picture together. Honestly, I was laughing hysterically by the end because it was so ridiculous. Thankfully, the photographer (who swore this wasn’t the worst shoot she’s ever done, even though I have doubts) was able to cut and paste the kids to get a couple of good ones!

The good:





The bad:





The ugly:



Yes, those are Steve’s hands trying to keep the boys down long enough to get the picture!  I actually think we put Teddy Grahams next to her head to get them to kiss her at the same time.  Sigh


9. The long and short of it…

I have been growing my hair out since Ty was born.  While I do love being able to pull my hair back in a ponytail, one day last week I decided I had enough.  It was too long and thick and driving me crazy.  So, I cut it off!

Ok, not the best pic, but you get the idea.

10. One more MJ-ism

Preface: Ms. Lisa’s granddaughter, Sierra, was in town a couple of weeks ago. She was playing with the boys’ toys and MJ was being a bit territorial (understatement).

MJ: No, Sierra, you can’t play with my tiger… I want it back!

Ms. Lisa: Why can’t you share your tiger with Sierra? You share it with Ty.

MJ: Oh yeah, well Ty’s my brother and he RESPECTS me… That’s why.

Me: (well, I was standing there laughing my behind off. I mean, how do you respond to that?!)

Catelin at 2 Months

Happy Girl!

I swear that every morning when Catelin wakes up she looks bigger than she did the day before!  We had her 2 month check up last week and she is doing great (and growing like a weed)…

Weight: 12 lbs, 2 oz (60%) ; Height 24.25” (90%)

Our pediatrician couldn’t believe how much she had grown- she gained 3 pounds and almost 3 inches in one month!  With all of the nursing problems that we have had, it is nice to know that she is getting what she needs. 

Eating habits:  I am still mostly feeding her on demand (every 2-3 hours).  I try to nurse her when I have time (since she still takes forever to nurse), but she is mostly getting pumped breast milk.  She eats 4.5-5.5 ounces at a feeding. (hungry girl)!

Sleeping: at 2 months, she was sleeping from about 9:30 PM to somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 AM and then back to sleep until around 8:00.  However, over the past 10 days, she has been sleeping until around 7:00-7:30!  I’m sure I am jinxing this by announcing it on my blog, but it has been wonderful. :)  She usually takes 2 long naps and a couple of cat naps during the day.  Since we are on the go with the boys most days, her first nap is almost always in the car seat (which she LOVES), and her second one is usually swaddled in the crib.

Likes: She likes to look at anything that is brightly colored (toys, books, tv, the playmat, etc).  Ceiling fans are still a big hit as well.  She enjoys sitting in her baby swing and rainforest chair.  She LOVES her brothers – if she is crying, they run over and start talking or singing to her and she immediately stops.  She is definitely the princess in our house!

Dislikes: tummy time, loud/scary noises, and being buckled into the car seat (she doesn’t mind the seat itself, just the few seconds when we strap her in). 

Accomplishments: she has been smiling for a few weeks now and it melts my heart every time.  She is starting to coo and make all of those cute baby noises.  Her head and neck strength continues to improve as well.

I started back to work August 1st – we implemented a new electronic medical record system in the office that kicked off that day.  Even though she was only 8 weeks old at the time, mentally it was much easier to go back knowing that I am only working 3 days a week.  As crazy as the first few days were (especially with the new system), I loved being there and seeing all of my wonderful patients.  The transition to part time has been such a great thing for me and the kids – I feel so blessed that this opportunity was available for me. 

It is tradition to go to Steve’s office with our new addition before I go back to work (I have done this with all of the kids).  The boys love seeing his office (which, not suprisingly, has fish and deer heads mounted on the wall…atleast they aren’t hanging in our house!).  Catelin had a great time visiting for the first time…

Happy 2 months, baby girl!

Destin Trip

We love the beach!

Steve and I took the kids on a 5 day trip to Destin last week.  Although this was probably the least relaxing vacation we have ever had, it was also one of the most fun.  We got down there Friday afternoon and went straight to the beach.  After we set up the sun tent, the boys headed into the ocean while I hung back with Catelin.  She loved the sound of the waves and was quite content sitting in her little chair.  MJ and Ty had a blast swimming in the ocean…however, MJ is not the biggest fan of sand.  He does not like wet sand on his hands, so building a sand castle was next to impossible (he kept running up to the outside shower to wash his hands off)- I swear it took an hour just to build one wall!  Ty (not suprisingly) embraced it and had a great time building and smashing our sand creations.

Beachin’

We spent all of the mornings out on the beach, came back in for lunch and naps, and headed back out in the evenings.  Steve and I took turns taking the boys “from the beach to the pool, from the pool to the beach.” (our motto for the trip).  One morning I think Steve ran back and forth with them atleast 10 times!    Again, it was fun but definitely not relaxing!  :)

I am not sure what year Steve and I started this tradition (I think it was when we went to Australia and New Zealand in 2007), but we always get pizza the last night of our vacation.  We usually try to take it out to the beach and eat it there, but we knew that would be a disaster with all of the kids.  So, we enjoyed our pizza out on the balcony overlooking the beach. 




Fun in the condo:




Our last evening out on the beach:

Brotherly love

Ty chasing the seagulls

Ty chasing MJ

Our little princess

Andrew and Leah came into town two weeks ago to meet Catelin – it was great to see them!